UCSB-Sonoma State Video Streaming Available
The video stream of the UCSB-Sonoma State game will be available for no-charge at the Big West Conference website, bigwest.org. Ultimately, the league will be offering the video stream of Big West-hosted games on its website. Eventually, there will be a charge, but the early games are offered free.

The Gaucho Record
UC Santa Barbara enters the week with an overall record of 3-4 and a Big West mark of, tah dah, 0-0. The Gauchos dropped their most recent game, a 66-54 decision at San Diego State on Saturday night. Since opening the season with a 2-0 record, UCSB has dropped four of its last five games. All four of the recent losses have come on the road.

Gauchos Can't Overcome First Half Struggles In Loss At SDSU
As has generally been the case on the road this season, UCSB had pretty severe offensive problems in the first half of its game at San Diego State on Saturday night. The Gauchos made just 29.6% of their shots and scored just 18 points in the first half of a 66-54 loss to the Aztecs. UCSB perked-up a bit in the second half, scoring 36 points and making 51.9% of its shots, but in the end the team lost its fourth game of the season, 66-54. Trailing 40-30, the Gauchos used a 13-4 run to cut the gap to 44-43, but the Aztecs responded, outscoring UCSB by 11 the rest of the way. The Gauchos were led by senior guard Cecil Brown who scored 12 points. Sophomore swingman Derek Rasp, playing his first game of the year after rehabilitating a strained lower back, scored 11 points in 20 minutes. Rasp made all four of his field goal attempts, including all three three-pointers in his 2005-06 debut. UCSB shot just 40.7% for the game and committed a season-high 19 turnovers in the defeat. San Diego State shot 48.1%.

Davis, Turner Injured In SDSU Game
Senior Josh Davis and junior Glenn Turner were both injured in Saturday's loss at San Diego State. Early in the second half of the game, Davis went down with a severely sprained left ankle and he did not return. Midway through the second half, Turner twisted his right knee, the same knee that sidelined him for much of the preseason, two exhibition games and the season-opener. The injury to Turner does not appear to be too serious but he will likely miss this week's games against Sonoma State and Fresno State. Davis will undoubtedly be sidelined for the games this week. His status will be re-evaluated after the team returns to Santa Barbara following Christmas.

Possible Starters - Notes
G - Cecil Brown - Has scored in double-figures in six straight games.
G - Alex Harris - Tied his season-high with five assists at SDSU.
G - Derek Rasp - Went 4-for-4 from the field, including three three-pointers, at SDSU.
F - Chris Devine - Has had at least five rebounds in six of seven games.
F - Cameron Goettsche - Had season-high nine points and seven rebounds at SDSU.

Possible Reserves - Notes
G - Lance Hurdle - Made his only field goal attempt in return home to San Diego.
G - James Powell - Freshman guard will redshirt the 2005-06 season.
G - Joe See - Snapped 0-for-12 slump by making both field goal attempts at SDSU.
G - Michael Chambers - Has not played in either of the last two games.
G - Josh Davis - Severely sprained left ankle has him sidelined indefinitely.
F - Chidi Ajufo - Did not play in game at San Diego State.
F - Tom Garlepp - Has attempted just 19 shots in 97 minutes this season.
F - Glenn Turner - Injured right knee in second half at SDSU and is doubtful for this week.
F - Chris Moore - Made his first appearance of the year at SDSU. Scored two points.
C - David Massey - At 7-foot-3 his the tallest player in program history. Will redshirt the year.

The Opponents
UCSB and Sonona State have never played. The Gauchos, however, have a long-running series with Fresno State. UCSB has played the Bulldogs 95 times in a series that dates back to 1937. It has been a while since Santa Barbara and Fresno have met, however. The teams have not played since FSU departed the Big West for the Western Athletic Conference following the 1991-92 school year. The last time UCSB and FSU played was on Feb. 13, 1992, when the Gauchos posted a 77-61 win. UCSB beat Fresno twice that season and have actually won seven of the last ten meetings in the series.

The Bob Williams FileBob Williams is in his eighth season as the head coach at UC Santa Barbara. Last year his team struggled with injuries and finished 11-18 overall and 7-11 in the Big West Conference. It marked the first time that a Williams-coached UCSB team finished below the .500 mark in league play. During the 2004-05 season, however, Williams became the fifth UCSB coach to record 100 wins. Prior to last season, he had guided the Gauchos to three straight winning seasons, the first time the program accomplished the feat since 1987-88 through 1989-90. In 2002-03, Williams' Gauchos went 18-14 overall and 14-4 in league. The 2002-03 Big West mark earned Santa Barbara its first-ever Big West regular season championship along with a postseason trip to the National Invitation Tournament. Additionally, the success earned Williams his second Big West Coach of the Year award, his first coming after an impressive 1999 campaign. In 2001-02, Williams guided UCSB to its first Big West Conference Tournament Championship ever and first NCAA Tournament appearance in 12 years. Including this season, Williams' UCSB teams have posted a 110-101 (.522) overall record and a 73-47 (.608) record in Big West games. Prior to his arrival at UCSB, he spent eight years at UC Davis and in those eight years, his teams recorded 20 or more wins five times and a 158-76 record. In Williams' final season, the Aggies went 31-2, won the NCAA Division II National Championship and he was named NABC Division II Coach of the Year. Including two seasons at Menlo College, Williams has a record of 299-201 (.599) at four-year schools.

Williams Approaches Milestones
Head coach Bob Williams will enter Tuesday's game against Sonoma State needing one more win to hit the 300 win plateau for his career. UCSB's 65-56 win over Pepperdine on Dec. 7 was the 110th win that a Williams-coached Gaucho team has posted and the 299th win that any Williams-led four-year program has recorded. Saturday's game at San Diego State was the 500th of Williams' coaching career.

A Tale Of Two Cities
Actually for UCSB it has been a tale of five cities, Santa Barbara and the five places that the Gauchos have played on the road. UCSB has gone unbeaten at home and winless on the road and the numbers are as you might expect. The Gauchos have been significantly better in virtually every important category at the Thunderdome as opposed to the various road venues. If you look just below this paragraph, and that won't take much effort, you will notice a chart with a statistical breakdown of UCSB's games at home as opposed to the road games.

Benchmark
In two games prior to UCSB's game at San Diego State, the Gaucho reserves had rather limited offensive production. On Dec. 3 at Loyola Marymount, the bench six players who came off the bench scored six points and made just 2-of-21 shots from the field. On Dec. 7 against Pepperdine, the reserves scored 13 points, making 3-of-8 shots. Actually, it was Glenn Turner who scored all 13 against the Waves, making 3-of-5 shots. In Saturday's loss at San Diego State, the Gaucho reserves, paced by the return of Derek Rasp, had collectively one their best games in weeks. Against the Aztecs, the six players who came off the bench scored 22 of the Gauchos' 54 points and they made 10-of-14 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point territory. Rasp, who missed the first six games of the season with a back injury, made all four of his field goal attempts, including three three-pointers, and had 11 points, second on the team.

The Gauchos At Home
The Gauchos are 3-0 at home this season. UCSB has won games against Pepperdine, San Francisco and San Diego. Although Santa Barbara struggled through the 2004-05 season, things were not that bad at home. The Gauchos went 8-4 at the Thunderdome, including 2-1 in non-conference games and 6-3 in league games. In three seasons prior to last year, Santa Barbara posted home records of 10-2 and the Gauchos have never won fewer than eight home games in a season under Bob Williams. Including its wins over Pepperdine, USF and USD, UCSB is 68-26 at home since Bob Williams arrived for the 1998-99 season.

The Gauchos On The Road
The road was a scary place for UCSB in 2004-05 and the trend has continued into the 2005-06 campaign. With losses at North Carolina, Arizona State, San Diego State and Loyola Marymount, the Gauchos are 0-4 on the road this season. UCSB was 2-13 in true road games last season and 1-1 in neutral site games. After opening the 2004-05 regular season with an overtime win at San Diego State, UCSB rattled-off 11 straight losses away from home. The 11 consecutive road losses was the longest streak since the final two games of the 1995-96 season and the first 10 of the 1996-97 season. The Gauchos' only other road win last season came at Cal Poly. Including the first three road games this season and the final road game of the 2003-04 season, UCSB has lost 18 of its last 20 and 16 of its last 17 true road games.

A Positive Sign
In Saturday's loss at San Diego State, UCSB made 40.7% of its shots from the field. While the 40.7% is nothing to write home about, the Gauchos did shoot a solid 51.9% in the second half, their best shooting half in four road games this season.

The Vanishing Three
In its first four games this season UCSB made an average of 8.5 three-point baskets per game. In fact, in their first game of the year, an 82-59 win over the University of San Francisco, the Gauchos made 11 three-point baskets. In the last three games, Santa Barbara has made a total of 11 three-point baskets, an average of 3.7 per game. UCSB made five three-point baskets at SDSU on Saturday and in the two games prior to that it had made just three in each. Finally, in the first four games the Gauchos made 34-of-78 shots from beyond the arc, 43.6%, but in the most recent three games they made 11-of-49, 22.4%.

Help, Cecil! Help!
Senior guard Cecil Brown leads the Gauchos in scoring at 13.1 points per game. Since scoring just four points in the season-opener against San Francisco, Brown has been in double-figures in six straight games, averaging 14.7 per game over that span. On Saturday night he made just 4-of-14 shots overall and 1-of-7 from three-point range, but he led UCSB in scoring with 12 points. In the last home game the Gauchos played, Brown had the best game of his career. In the Dec. 7 win over Pepperdine, he made 11-of-17 shots overall, including 3-of-6 from three-point range, and he scored a career-high 28 points. Also, despite his subpar shooting performance in San Diego, he is shooting 45.9% in the last six games. Brown is not just producing points, he is rebounding as well as he ever has. He enters the week averaging 4.1 rebounds per game and he has had four or more five times in seven games, including each of the last two. Brown, who played a season-high 35 minutes on Saturday, had a season-high six rebounds twice this season, once each against USF and at Arizona State. He has had a season-high three assists three times, including the game at San Diego State.

The Harris Poll
Sophomore guard Alex Harris is the opposite of Cecil Brown. He started the season by making 11-of-19 shots, 57.9%, in the first two games, but he has had his problems since then. In the last five games Harris has made just 16-of-52 shots, 30.8%. Also, since making 5-of-8 from three-point territory in the first two games, he has hit just 6-of-23, 26.1%. While he is averaging 10.9 points per game and has scored in double-figures four times overall, he is averaging 8.7 per game and has scored in double-figures just once in the last four games. On the positive side, Harris tied his season-high with five assists in the game at San Diego State and he is now tied for the team-lead in assists at 2.3 per game. He has also been a consistent rebounder for UCSB averaging 5.1 per game. In fact, Harris is the only Gaucho player this season to record a double-double. On Nov. 21 in a win over San Diego, he became the first UCSB guard since the 2002-03 season to log a double-double when he had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

To Err Is Human, To Forgive Devine
Actually, sophomore forward Chris Devine has nothing to apologize for. He enters the week averaging 8.4 points and a team-leading 6.1 rebounds per game. He did struggle in the loss at San Diego State when he scored just two points, making 1-of-6 field goal attempts and committing a season-high four turnovers. Devine did have five rebounds against the Aztecs and he has had five or more rebounds six times in seven games this season. Despite making just 1-of-6 shots on Saturday, Devine continues to lead all UCSB regulars in field goal percentage at 53.3%. He also leads all frontcourt players in minutes played with 187 and he has logged at least 25 in all seven games. Devine scored a season-high 17 in Gauchos' opener against USF and he had a personal-best nine rebounds on Nov. 21 against San Diego.

The Ironman Finally Goes Down
Senior Josh Davis may have bettn battling a season-long shooting slump, but you could always count on him for stellar defense, solid rebounding and the fact that he would log 30 or more minutes per game. Last year, when Gaucho players were falling like flies, Davis was the only member of the team to start all 29 games and he easily led the team in minutes played. At times he was a little dinged-up, but never did he go to the sideline. On Saturday at San Diego State, the Gaucho ironman went down with an left ankle sprain in the second half and it is a certainty that he will be sidelined this time. Davis is expected to miss at least three games, and possibly more. He is averaging just 4.9 points per game, but he is tied for the teamm lead in assists at 2.3 per game and he is also averaging 3.9 rebounds per outing.

Wait And See
After getting off to a sizzling start to the 2005-06 season, senior guard Joe See hit a slump. In three games prior to the San Diego State game, See was scoreless, missing all 12 of his shots overall and all eight of his three-point attempts. On Satuday, See played a season-low 15 minutes, but he made both of his field goal attempts, both two-pointers. See's scoring average, which was at 11.0 points per game after three games, has drifted down to 5.3 per game. His shooting percentages, which were 52.6% overall and 64.3% from three-point range after three games, have gone down to 36.4% overall and 40.9% from three-point territory. See scored 17 points, making 5-of-6 shots from three-point range, in the season-opener against San Francisco. He also had 11 points, including 3-of-6 from three-point territory at North Carolina, but in the other five games combined, he scored nine points.

Grasping A Starting Position
Sophomore swingman Derek Rasp returned in the nick of time for the Gauchos. With the injury to Josh Davis, Rasp is expected to get the nod as the starter the three-spot. After missing the two exhibition games and the first six game of the regular season, Rasp returned with a bang on Saturday at San Diego State. He played 20 minutes, making all four of his field goal attempts, including three three-pointers, and he scored 11 points. Last year he set a UCSB record for three-point percentage by a freshman at 40.5%. By making all three of his three-point attempts on Saturday, Rasp has now made 33-of-77 in his brief career, 42.9%, a figure that would rank him second in school history.

Cam He Is
Senior forward Cameron Goettsche played a season-high 27 minutes in Saturday's game at San Diego State and it showed in the numbers. Goettsche tied his season-high with nine points, the same total he produced in the Gauchos' previous game against Pepperdine, and he had a season-high seven rebounds. He also tied his season-high with two blocked shots. Goettsche made a season-best foiur field goals against the Aztecs and he tied his season-high with eight attempts. On the year, he is now averaging 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game and shooting 46.9% from the field. Goettsche did, however struggle from the free throw line against SDSU. After making 5-of-6 in UCSB 's win over Pepperdine, he made just 1-of-6 against the Aztecs. Finally, since scoring just two points in the season-opener against USF, Goettsche has averaged 7.0 points per game.

More Player Notes
Junior forward Glenn Turner re-injured his right knee at SDSU on Saturday. Although the injury is not as serious as the one that caused him to miss the two exhibition games and thre regular season opener, it will sideline him this week. Turner was coming off of his best game as a Gaucho. He had 13 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots in UCSB's Dec. 7 win over Pepperdine. n Freshman forward Tom Garlepp made 2-of-3 shots and scored four points at SDSU, his highest total in three games. n Sophomore post player Chidi Ajufo did not play at SDSU, his first DNP of the season. n After not playing in UCSB's win over Pepperdine, freshman guard Lance Hurdle played five minutes at SDSU, making his only field goal attempt. n Sophomore forward Chris Moore made his season debut at SDSU. He missed the exhibitions and the first six games because he was ineligible. Moore scored two points and had one rebound in seven minutes. n Senior guard Michael Chambers has not played in either of the last two games.